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What Receipts Donors Receive

Goal: Know exactly what an Ayuna-generated receipt contains so you can answer donor questions, audit the IRS-required content, and decide whether you need to send anything additional by hand.

Receipts are generated automatically​

You don't author receipts — Ayuna generates them whenever a donation is recorded (online form, card-present terminal, manual entry, recurring run, pledge payment). The donor gets an email with the receipt as soon as the payment is captured.

The receipt content comes from a built-in template that's the same for every affiliate. The template pulls in your affiliate-specific values — name, EIN, address, logo, 501(c)(3) statement — so donors see your branding, but the layout and IRS-compliance language are fixed.

What every donation receipt includes​

Every Ayuna donation receipt contains:

  • Affiliate header — your name, logo, EIN
  • Receipt number — unique, used for resends and audit trails
  • Date and amount of the donation
  • Payment method (card brand, ACH, cash, check)
  • The IRS-required tax statement — automatically chosen based on the gift type:
    • Pure donation: "No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution. The full amount of $X may be tax deductible."
    • Quid pro quo (gift with benefits): "The fair market value of goods/services received was $Y. The tax-deductible portion of your payment is $Z."
  • Your 501(c)(3) statement — pulled from your affiliate's configuration
  • CWA block — for gifts of $250 or more, the IRS-required Contemporaneous Written Acknowledgment text under IRC §170(f)(8) is automatically included
  • Footer with your address, phone, email, and website

What in-kind acknowledgments contain​

In-kind donations get a separate acknowledgment letter that:

  • Identifies the affiliate, EIN, and tax-exempt status
  • Describes the items received (description from the donation record, no value)
  • States the date received
  • Reminds the donor that valuation is their responsibility (per IRS Pub 1771)

See Handle In-Kind Acknowledgments for the day-to-day flow.

What year-end tax statements contain​

The annual statement (sent in January) summarizes the prior year's giving:

  • All gifts in the year, gift-by-gift, with date and amount
  • Total tax-deductible cash giving
  • A separate section listing in-kind gifts (described, no value)

See Generate Year-End Tax Statements.

Customization is limited today​

Receipts and acknowledgments are rendered from templates baked into Ayuna. There is no admin UI to edit:

  • The receipt's HTML layout, colors, or fonts
  • The IRS-required language wording
  • The signature block or signer name on acknowledgment letters
  • The order of fields

Affiliate-specific values that do flow into every receipt automatically:

  • Affiliate name, EIN, address, phone, email, website
  • Logo (if uploaded)
  • 501(c)(3) statement text (configured per affiliate)

If you need branded changes beyond those values — a custom letter format, a personal note from the executive director on major gifts, a different signer — that's a manual workflow today: pull the gift info from the donation record and send a custom letter outside of Ayuna.

Quid pro quo: when receipts split the gift​

If a donation includes goods or services in return (event ticket, auction item, sponsor benefits), the receipt automatically:

  1. Shows the fair market value of what the donor received
  2. Calculates the tax-deductible portion (gift amount minus FMV)
  3. States both numbers clearly so the donor knows what to claim

This works only if the FMV is captured on the donation record. If you record a sponsorship or event gift without the FMV, the donor's receipt will treat the entire amount as deductible — which is wrong and creates IRS exposure for them.

Auditing what donors are actually receiving​

A few times a year:

  • Send a real test gift to yourself and review the receipt end-to-end
  • Spot-check a quid-pro-quo gift to confirm the FMV split is correct
  • Verify your 501(c)(3) statement, EIN, and address are still accurate in your affiliate configuration

The first receipt of the year is also worth reviewing — anything that broke when calendars rolled (year in CWA block, statement totals) shows up there first.